Keep close consultation, ensure a good balance between security and privacy: Twitter, internet cos on social media standards

New Delhi, Jan 11 () The government should hold robust consultation
with stakeholders before finalising the revised rules for social
media as a "carefully crafted balance" is needed between security
and free expression, according to Twitter and other social media
platforms. The proposed amendments to Information Technology (IT)
rules aimed at curbing misuse of social media and online platforms
ahead of the general elections have sparked concerns among various
stakeholders. Against this backdrop, Twitter's Global Vice
President (Public Policy) Colin Crowell told that any promulgation
of new rules in this area should only come after a robust
consultation. "With respect to intermediary liability, there is a
carefully crafted balance that needs to be struck between ensuring
the safety and security of an experience on any social media
platform with respect to content, and protection with respect to
privacy and free expression," Crowell said. He noted that this
"balance is at risk of being upended" by norms like asking social
media platforms to pro-actively monitor content. On condition of
anonymity, a senior executive of another global social media
platform said it is unclear whether India wants to be a leader in
data privacy or mass surveillance. According to him, a mandate for
interception and decryption of information would hurt people's
ability to have a private conversation online. While the
discussions are going on with the government, the executive
emphasised that requiring collection of and access to personal
data, even when a crime has not been committed, would have serious
global ramifications. Among the draft amendments is a proposal that
would require 'intermediaries' to enable tracing of originators of
information when required by authorised government agencies.
Another proposed provision would require social media platforms to
deploy tools to "identify" and curb unlawful content. Some industry
experts have warned that the planned amendments -- that mandate
traceability of "unlawful content" -- could invade personal privacy
and free speech. Crowell said Twitter serves roughly 500 million
tweets a day and that is around a billion tweets every two days.
"Nobody wants a typewriter that edits what you type as you type it,
you want to be able to type what you believe and to publish that,"
he said. In December, the Information Technology (IT) ministry
officials held a meeting with senior executives of Google,
Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter and other companies to discuss the
proposed changes to the IT rules. While comments from the public
have been sought on the draft rules, a section of the stakeholders
has slammed the proposed changes. Mozilla, the not-for-profit
entity behind web browser Firefox, had said the move is a "blunt
and disproportionate" fix to the problem of harmful online content
and would lead to over-censorship. The Opposition said the
proposals if implemented would violate privacy of individuals and
termed it as an attempt to convert India into a "nanny state".
Crowell batted for a wide consultation stating that the process
"should not be solely with the largest companies in the space but
with a variety of stakeholders -- both in industry and civil
society". This is because the rights and responsibilities that are
articulated in any intermediary liability regime also go directly
to the heart of how individual Indians can express themselves in
open society, Crowell explained. SR ANU